Regulator · Czech Republic

Czech National Bank (CNB): register, licences and requirements

The Czech National Bank (CNB) is the central bank and integrated financial supervisor of the Czech Republic. It oversees price and financial stability, issuing the Czech koruna and supervising the financial sector. CNB licenses and regulates 26 payment institutions, 47 small-scale payment providers, 3 electronic money institutions, 43 investment firms, 51 fund management companies, 21 commercial banks, and crypto-asset service providers under EU MiCA.

Last verified 2026-09-24Markdown · Data (CC BY 4.0)
Czech National Bank: regulatorCNB

How to check a firm on the CNB register

Searches across the CNB Single Register of Financial Market Entities (JERRS) can be conducted online by entity name, registration number, or by browsing predefined lists of licensed and registered participants. An active entry displays the entity legal name, company registration number (IČO), registered seat, date of authorisation, permitted scope of activities, and corporate history since 2009. Automated querying of deep registry records requires completing a graphical CAPTCHA.13

At a glance

Official nameCzech National Bank (Česká národní banka)
JurisdictionCzech Republic
TypeCentral bank
HeadquartersPrague1
Founded19932
Websitecnb.cz3
Public registerOfficial public register4
Licence types in the Atlas12

What CNB supervises

The Czech National Bank acts as the central bank and unified supervisory authority of the Czech financial market under Act No. 6/1993 Coll. It safeguards financial system stability and supervises the banking sector, capital markets, insurance industry, pension funds, payment and electronic money institutions, credit unions, consumer credit providers, and crypto-asset service providers.14

  • Banking sector including domestic commercial banks, branches of foreign banks, and credit unions14
  • Payment system institutions including payment institutions, small-scale payment service providers, and dynamic currency conversion providers6
  • Electronic money institutions and small-scale electronic money issuers6
  • Capital market participants including investment firms, investment intermediaries, trading venues, central depositories, and market infrastructure14
  • Collective investment including investment fund management companies, investment funds, sub-funds, and registered sub-threshold managers15
  • Insurance and reinsurance companies, insurance intermediaries, and independent loss adjusters14
  • Pension management companies, retirement funds, and pension intermediaries14
  • Non-bank consumer credit providers and consumer credit intermediaries15
  • Crowdfunding service providers authorized under the European Crowdfunding Regulation (ECSPR)15
  • Crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and asset-referenced token (ART) issuers under MiCA and the Financial Market Digitalisation Act16
  • Bureaux de change and professional handlers of domestic banknotes and coins14

Licences CNB issues

Lesser-known services for applicants

Available

Pre-application meeting / pre-assessment

The CNB offers pre-application consultations and handles professional regulatory enquiries submitted via electronic forms. Prospective applicants can present project outlines, clarify regulatory classification, and resolve unclear licensing questions before formal filing. Inquiries submitted via the FinTech contact point do not require applicant legal analysis, while professional regulatory queries require the inquirer's own legal assessment. Consultations are free of charge.5

Available

Innovation hub

The CNB operates the FinTech contact point, an interactive communication channel established to receive fintech queries from incumbent institutions and prospective market entrants. It facilitates dialogue with the fintech community through regular consultative meetings and topical roundtables free of charge, though the CNB explicitly states it does not maintain a dedicated separate innovation hub.5

Not offered

Regulatory sandbox

The CNB does not operate a regulatory sandbox and has officially maintained a strict policy refusing to establish a regulatory sandbox, citing statutory principles of market neutrality, non-discrimination, and equal treatment under Czech financial market legislation ('same business, same risks, same rules'). No discretionary statutory waivers or light-touch regulatory dispensations are granted to fintech startups.5

Application portal: Mandatory electronic filing via the state-certified Data Box system (Datová schránka, CNB ID 8tgaiej) or digitally signed email to podatelna@cnb.cz; intermediary and agent registrations are processed through the REGIS application.6

Fee schedule: Tariff of Administrative Fees under Act No. 634/2004 Coll. on Administrative Fees, Items 65 and 66, setting statutory application, amendment, and change-of-control fees for financial market entities.7

Compare with other regulators: pre-application meetings · sandboxes and innovation hubs.

Statistics

Number of licence holders by licence typeCommercial Bank licence21Crypto-Asset Service Provider 11Small-scale Electronic Money I11Electronic Money Institution l3Sub-threshold Alternative Inve458Investment Company / Fund Mana51Investment Firm licence43Non-bank Consumer Credit Provi73Crowdfunding Service Provider 5Account Information Service Pr3Small-scale Payment Service Pr47Payment Institution licence26
Current licence holders in the official register171817171717171717171717
  • 26 domestic payment institutions actively operating in Czechia (FMS Report 2024 Table B.15, 2024-12-31)17
  • 47 small-scale payment service providers (PPSMR) actively registered (FMS Report 2024 Table B.15, 2024-12-31)17
  • 3 domestic electronic money institutions (EMI) actively operating (FMS Report 2024 Table B.15, 2024-12-31)17
  • 11 small-scale electronic money issuers (VEPMR) actively registered (FMS Report 2024 Table B.15, 2024-12-31)17
  • 3 payment account information administrators (AISP) actively operating (FMS Report 2024 Table B.15, 2024-12-31)17
  • 43 investment firms operating in Czechia, comprising 30 non-bank broker-dealers and 13 banks (FMS Report 2024 Table B.10, 2024-12-31)17
  • 51 licensed investment fund management companies and 458 registered sub-threshold managers under Section 15 of AMCIF (FMS Report 2024 Table B.8, 2024-12-31)17
  • 5 crowdfunding service providers authorized under ECSPR (FMS Report 2024 Table B.20, 2024-12-31)17
  • 73 non-bank consumer credit providers actively licensed (FMS Report 2024 Table B.17, 2024-12-31)17
  • 21 domestic commercial banks and 22 foreign bank branches operating in Czechia (FMS Report 2024 Table B.1, 2024-12-31)17
  • CZK 39,424,000 collected in administrative fees for extending authorisations across financial market entities in 2024 (FMS Report 2024, 2024-12-31)17

Fees and timelines

LicenceFeeAmount
Payment Institution licenceapplicationCZK 50,0007
Small-scale Payment Service Provider authorisationapplicationCZK 10,0007
Account Information Service Provider authorisationapplicationCZK 25,0007
Electronic Money Institution licenceapplicationCZK 50,0007
Small-scale Electronic Money Issuer authorisationapplicationCZK 10,0007
Investment Firm licenceapplicationCZK 20,000 to CZK 100,000 depending on scope of investment services7
Investment Company / Fund Manager licenceapplicationCZK 50,000 to CZK 100,000 depending on scope of management licence7
Sub-threshold Alternative Investment Fund Manager registration pursuant to Section 15 of AMCIFapplicationCZK 10,0007
Crowdfunding Service Provider authorization under ECSPRapplicationCZK 20,0007
Non-bank Consumer Credit Provider licenceapplicationCZK 50,000 (plus CZK 25,000 extension fee)7
Commercial Bank licenceapplicationCZK 200,0007
Crypto-Asset Service Provider authorisation under MiCA and Act No. 31/2025 Coll.applicationCZK 20,0007
Time to licence: statutory 3-3 monthsStatutory3 months
Time to a decision for Payment Institution licence: statutory deadline vs observed.
LicenceStatutory deadlineObserved
Payment Institution licence3 months from commencement of proceedings / complete application8not published
Small-scale Payment Service Provider authorisation30 days (general administrative code deadline, extendable by 30 days)8not published
Account Information Service Provider authorisation3 months from commencement of proceedings8not published
Electronic Money Institution licence3 months from commencement of proceedings8not published
Small-scale Electronic Money Issuer authorisation30 days (general administrative code deadline, extendable by 30 days)8not published
Investment Firm licence6 months from receipt of a complete application9not published
Investment Company / Fund Manager licence6 months from receipt of a complete application10not published
Sub-threshold Alternative Investment Fund Manager registration pursuant to Section 15 of AMCIF30 days (general administrative code deadline)10not published
Crowdfunding Service Provider authorization under ECSPR3 months from receipt of a complete application11not published
Crypto-Asset Service Provider authorisation under MiCA and Act No. 31/2025 Coll.40 working days from complete application under MiCA Art. 63(7) (plus 25 working days completeness check)12not published

Changing the owner of a licensed firm

Prior notification with an objection period. Under Section 18 of the Payment Systems Act (Act No. 370/2017 Coll.), any person or persons acting in concert intending to acquire, dispose of, or increase a qualifying holding in a payment institution or electronic money institution reaching or exceeding 20%, 30%, or 50% of voting rights or capital, or become the controlling person, must notify the CNB in advance via electronic filing. The CNB assesses the trustworthiness and suitability of the proposed acquirer within a statutory 60-working-day window and may initiate proceedings to issue a formal objection (vyslovení nesouhlasu). In the absence of an objection or upon affirmative notification, the acquisition may proceed. Acquiring qualifying holdings in breach of notification or objection leads to statutory forfeiture of voting rights. In contrast, for banks and investment firms under Act No. 21/1992 Coll. and Act No. 256/2004 Coll., prior approval (předchozí souhlas) is required subject to a CZK 20,000 fee under Item 66 of Act No. 634/2004 Coll. Small-scale providers (PPSMR/VEPMR) are exempt from change-of-control clearance.8

Buying a company that already holds one of these licences is often faster than applying. See ready-made licensed companies · crypto digital assets.

Laws CNB applies

Recent and upcoming changes

  • 2025-02-15: Enactment of Act No. 31/2025 Coll. on Financial Market Digitalisation, establishing CNB as the supervisory and licensing authority for MiCA CASPs and amending Act No. 634/2004 Coll. with a CZK 20,000 application fee.19
  • 2025-01-17: Direct application of the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA, Regulation 2022/2554), aligning CNB operational resilience and ICT incident reporting rules across all supervised financial entities.20
  • 2025-06-01: Publication of Version 2 of the CNB Methodology for assessing applications for authorisation under the Payment System Act, updating supervisory standards on safeguarding client funds and governance.21
  • 2026-07-01: Expiry of the 18-month transitional grandfathering period under MiCA Article 143(3) for crypto firms operating under Czech trade licensing (živnostenské oprávnění), requiring full CNB CASP authorisation.17

Contacts and public register

Address: Na Příkopě 864/28, 115 03 Praha 1, Czech Republic1
Website: cnb.cz3

Check whether a firm is licensed: official register4 · official register13.

Working with Protegra

From Protegra: crypto license in the Czech Republic.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a Czech Payment Institution licence and a Small-scale Payment Service Provider (PPSMR)?

A full Payment Institution (PI) licence allows unlimited payment transaction volumes and cross-border passporting throughout the European Economic Area, requiring EUR 125,000 initial capital and a CZK 50,000 administrative fee. In contrast, a Small-scale Payment Service Provider (PPSMR) registration costs CZK 10,000 and has no initial capital requirement, but restricts transactions to an average of EUR 3,000,000 monthly within Czechia only.

Does the Czech National Bank operate a fintech regulatory sandbox?

No. The CNB explicitly does not operate a regulatory sandbox and maintains a strict policy refusing to grant regulatory exemptions or waivers, holding that selective relief violates constitutional principles of non-discrimination and market neutrality. However, the CNB provides a FinTech contact point where innovators can submit specialised regulatory enquiries and attend community roundtables free of charge.

How are crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) regulated by the CNB under MiCA?

Under Act No. 31/2025 Coll. on Financial Market Digitalisation, the CNB is the designated competent authority for licensing and supervising Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) under the EU MiCA Regulation. CASP authorisation applications carry a CZK 20,000 statutory administrative fee. Entities operating under legacy trade licences had until mid-2026 under Article 143(3) grandfathering to transition to full CNB authorisation.

What statutory fees does the CNB charge for fintech and payment licensing?

Under Item 65 of Act No. 634/2004 Coll., application fees are CZK 50,000 for a Payment Institution or Electronic Money Institution, CZK 10,000 for small-scale providers, CZK 20,000 for CASPs or crowdfunding platforms, and CZK 200,000 for banks. Crucially, the CNB levies no annual percentage-based supervisory fees on payment institutions, funding supervision from central bank operations.

How are changes of control regulated in CNB-licensed payment institutions?

Under Section 18 of the Payment Systems Act, acquiring, disposing of, or increasing a qualifying holding reaching or exceeding 20%, 30%, or 50% in a licensed payment institution requires prior notification to the CNB. The CNB conducts a 60-working-day review and may issue a formal objection if suitability is questionable. Small-scale providers (PPSMR) are exempt from change-of-control approvals.

Last verified 2026-09-24Author Danil Marmysh, Founder & CEO, ProtegraReviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova, Head of Licensing, ProtegraReport an errorReference information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. cnb.cz: contacts · retrieved 2026-09-24
  2. e-sbirka.cz: 6 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  3. cnb.cz · retrieved 2026-09-24
  4. cnb.cz: lists registers · retrieved 2026-09-24
  5. cnb.cz: financial innovation · retrieved 2026-09-24
  6. cnb.cz: licensing and approval proceedings payment institutions · retrieved 2026-09-24
  7. Czech legislation (Zákony pro lidi): 2004 634 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  8. Czech legislation (Zákony pro lidi): 2017 370 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  9. EUR-Lex: CELEX 32014L0065 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  10. Czech legislation (Zákony pro lidi): 2013 240 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  11. EUR-Lex: CELEX 32020R1503 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  12. EUR-Lex: CELEX 32023R1114 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  13. jerrs.cnb.cz: JERRS.WEB07.INTRO PAGE · retrieved 2026-09-24
  14. cnb.cz: supervision financial market · retrieved 2026-09-24
  15. cnb.cz: licensing and approval proceedings · retrieved 2026-09-24
  16. cnb.cz: laws and regulations · retrieved 2026-09-24
  17. cnb.cz: fms 2024 (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24
  18. cnb.cz: seznamy · retrieved 2026-09-24
  19. Czech legislation (Zákony pro lidi): 2025 31 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  20. EUR-Lex: CELEX 32022R2554 · retrieved 2026-09-24
  21. cnb.cz: 2025 05 metodika zps verze 2 (PDF) · retrieved 2026-09-24

Applying to CNB, or buying a firm it licenses?

Tell us your business model and target markets. We check the fit before you spend on an application, then handle the licence end to end.

A free preliminary assessment: we check your business model against the licence before you spend on an application. We handle this licence and any other fintech licence, including jurisdictions the Atlas does not cover yet.